reference

E.I. Williams
catalogue 6
STEEL DIVISION
BUILDING SOUND SOLUTIONS

VENT SILENCERS
OPTIONAL
OUTLET
STACK

FLOW

INLET NOZZLE

INFORMATION ON
VENT SILENCERS
A vent silencer or a blow off silencer is a device used to
reduce unwanted noise created by gas or steam flow in a
pipeline discharging directly into the atmosphere. This
noise can be generated due to the high velocity flow
through the valve and turbulence created around any
obstacle in the line that suddenly restricts or changes the
direction of flow such as valve or an orifice.
Vent silencers find wide applications in high pressure
vents, steam vents, safety relief valve outlets, system blow
downs and purge outlets etc.
Vent and blow down noise is a function of upstream
pressure and temperature, type of gas being vented, the
valve size and type, plus the effect of down stream piping.
Each vent silencer is designed to attenuate the noise level
to the required sound pressure level criteria at a given
distance from the silencer. This is the reason that vent
and blow down silencers are seldom a catalogue selection.
The details given here can be considered as a guideline.
Contact our experienced engineers to recommend a
silencer best suited for your application for vertical or
horizontal installations.
In any steam or gas venting / blow off system, the primary
release of noise energy occurs at the open stack exit. The
blow off silencer is installed either within the stack or at the
stack outlet to intercept this noise before it escapes into
the environment.
There are two fundamental noise reduction principles used
in passive silencer design. Dissipative components (using
sound absorbing material) provide balanced noise
reduction over a broad frequency range. Reactive
components, using resonant reflections within tuned
chambers and passages, provide peak noise reduction in
a more concentrated frequency band. The SV series vent
silencers combines both dissipative and reactive
technology in a highly efficient design.
DATA REQUIRED TO SELECT VENT SILENCER
Application (Vent, Blow down, Relief Valve etc.)
Fluid Composition (Steam, Gas, Air)
Molecular Weight or Specific Gravity
Process conditions upstream of valve i.e. Flow rate (W)
and units (lb/hr, SCFM, ACFM), Temperature (T 1),
Pressure (P 1)
Atmospheric pressure ( P a ) and down stream
temperature (T 2) if known.
Line size between valve and silencer and connection type.
Line size from silencer discharge
Unsilenced octave band noise levels, if known
Attenuation required (silencer performance)
Allowable pressure drop
SIZING OF A VENT SILENCER
Typical examples of sizing a SV series vent silencer are
shown here. The diameter of a silencer is a function of flow
rate of the gas it can safely pass without eroding the
acoustical packing or regenerating noise. The silencer length
is a function of the degree of noise reduction to be achieved.

A. STEAM
Example 1: Service conditions: W max. = 60000 lb / hr.
superheated steam, P 1 = 250 psia, T = 500 F,
P a = 14.7 psia. Require 40 dB attenuation.
a. From steam tables, using P 1 (250 psia) and T 1 (500 F),
find the upstream enthalpy, h 1 = 1264.7 btu / lb.
b. Assuming constant enthalpy expansion h1 = h2, from
steam tables determine the down stream specific
volume v2 using h2 (1265 btu / lb and P a (14.7 psia),
v2 = 36.75 cu. Ft. / lb.
c. Calculate actual down stream flow rate Q d (ACFM),
actual cubic feet per minute using equation
Q d = W X V2
60
Q d = 60000 X 36.75
60
= 36750 ACFM
d. Select silencer using Table 1, having capacity equal to
or greater than Q d. Therefore SV-36-2 is selected.
Table 1 can be used to select SV type for desired
attenuation or contact our engineers for selection.
Example 2: Service Conditions : W max. = 120000 lb / hr.
of saturated steam, P 1 = 300 psia. T1 = 417 F, P a =
15 psia. Require minimum of 55 dB attenuation.
Using the same procedure as example 1 above.
a. From steam tables h 1 = 1203.2 btu / lb = h2
b. For h 2 = 1203 btu / lb and P a = 15 psia , V 2 is
determined to be 31 cu. Ft. / lb.
c. Using equation:
Qd=W X V2
60
Q d = 120000 X 31
60
= 62000 ACFM
d. From table 1, SV-48-4 is selected.
B. GAS
Service conditions: W max. = 200000 lb / hr. Nitrogen,
(or Q = 45022 SCFM), Specific gravity (S.G.) = 0.97, T 2 =
200 F and P a = 14.3 psia. Require 40 to 50 dB attenuation.
a. If flow is given in lb / hr., calculate Q d (ACFM) using
equation :
Q d = W X ( T 2 + 460 )
162 X P a X S.G.
Q d = 200000 X ( 200 + 460 )
162 X 14.3 X 0.97
= 58742 ACFM
b. If flow is given in SCFM, calculate Q d (ACFM) using
equation :
Q d = Q X ( T 2 + 460 )
35.374 X P a
Q d = 45022 X ( 200 + 460 )
35.374 X 14.3
= 58742 ACFM
c. From Table 1, SV-48-3 is selected.

SV SERIES VENT SILENCERS

SPECIFICATIONS
TYPICAL PERFORMANCE
( Dynamic Insertion Loss ) dB
VENT
SIZE &
TYPE

The SV series vent silencers are recommended for reducing excessive

noise caused by the discharge of high pressure gas, steam or air into
the atmosphere.
The silencers are of reactive / absorptive type design. The gas and
noise enters the silencer through the single stage or multi stage diffuser
where it is permitted to expand through many small holes into the
expansion chamber. The design of diffuser and size of the expansion
chamber provides a tuned reactive section. The diffuser also provides a
frequency shift to higher frequencies which are best attenuated by the
absorptive section. The gas then passes through the absorptive section
which consists of multiple perforated flow tubes surrounded by dense
acoustical packing providing a broad range of attenuation in the mid to
high frequency ranges.
The standard construction is a rigid all welded carbon steel shell
assembly, flow tube bundle and inlet / diffuser with acoustical packing of
dense long strand fiberglass suitable for service temperatures indicated.
Length of flow tubes and number of tube bundles is dependent on
degree of silencing required. The silencer thickness includes 1/16
corrosion allowance and finished with rust inhibitive primer. The optional
features include multiple inlets, special materials or finishes, mounting
brackets and code requirements.

Octave Band Center Frequency, Hz

63

125

250

500 1000 2000 4000 8000

SV1

10

18

27

33

39

40

35

30

SV2

12

23

34

42

49

50

43

37

SV3

14

29

42

53

60

60

51

44

SV4

16

34

49

63

70

69

60

50

TABLE 1

SV
OPTIONAL
OUTLET
STACK

FLOW

INLET NOZZLE

TYPE SV1
TYPE SV2
TYPE SV3
TYPE SV4
INLET MAX. SILENCER SHELL OUTLET
DIA.
SV
STACK
NOZZLE
CAPACITY,
LENGTH WEIGHT LENGTH WEIGHT LENGTH WEIGHT LENGTH WEIGHT
SIZE
ACFM
D
MIN.
L
L
L
L
2

2940

10

45

90

60

110

70

150

80

210

3150

12

50

100

60

125

85

170

95

230

5235

14

60

150

70

180

95

225

105

260

7650

16

10

60

180

75

230

100

300

115

330

8800

18

10

66

230

80

285

110

375

125

420

12500

20

12

75

285

90

350

120

450

140

530

15800

22

14

70

350

80

450

105

550

115

630

18200

24

16

75

450

85

525

115

680

130

750

21500

26

16

75

500

92

625

122

795

135

880

28000

28

18

80

580

100

715

130

915

145

1050

33300

30

20

86

680

105

830

135

1060

160

1260

10

36500

30

20

90

950

100

1000

130

1250

145

1500

10

41500

36

22

95

1100

115

1350

150

1750

175

2050

12

58500

42

26

85

1270

105

1600

140

2100

150

2300

14

90500

48

34

100

1750

115

2100

150

2700

175

3200

16

112500

54

36

105

2180

125

2600

165

3450

190

4000

18

142000

60

42

115

3200

140

3900

180

5100

205

5800

20

180000

66

48

130

4100

155

4900

200

6350

235

7350

24

225000

72

52

135

4800

165

5900

220

7700

245

8600

Intermediate and larger sizes available on

request, consult factory.
Dimensions and weights are approximate and
may change slightly with production models.
Dimension in inches.
Weight in lbs.

We specialize in custom designs

and also provide various nozzle
orientations to suit your specific
requirements.
2

OTHER PRODUCTS AVAILABLE:

ROTARY POSITIVE BLOWER INTAKE AND
DISCHARGE SILENCERS
reference catalogue 1
BASE SILENCERS FOR ROTARY POSITIVE
BLOWERS
reference catalogue 2
COMBINATION SILENCERS FOR ROTARY
POSITIVE BLOWERS
reference catalogue 3
FAN SILENCERS
reference catalogue 4
CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR SILENCERS
reference catalogue 5
VENT SILENCERS
reference catalogue 6
ENGINE SILENCERS
reference catalogue 7
NOISE ENCLOSURES
reference catalogue 8
PUCK SILENCERS
reference catalogue 9

YOUR ONE STOP CENTER FOR

ALL INDUSTRIAL SILENCING
NEEDS.
E.I. Williams
STEEL DIVISION
BUILDING SOUND SOLUTIONS
PLANT: 264 FAIRALL STREET, AJAX, ONTARIO L1S 1R6 CANADA
TEL (905) 428 0950 FAX (905) 428 8343